The Following
by Arbasyn
Summary: In the Midnight Realm home to nocturnal ponies Princess Luna has finally returned from her banishment and her guarding of Canterlot, hoping to rule her people in peace until she's summoned by Princess Celestia to destroy Changelings in the Everfree Forest. Accompanied by Captain Antiflux and his Troop Kurabi, they will fight enemies both internal and external. DUH DUH DUUHH!
1. Chapter 1

The Following by: Arbasyn

Good afternoon Dr. Gowge," greeted Antiflux curtly as he entered the doctor's grey stoned office. Removing his white cloak, he placed it on a small hook in the wall with his magic before he stepped further inside the office. Antiflux looked around the office, if you could call it that, Dr. Gouge's "office" was a perfectly square room built by grey stone and concrete without any feature whatsoever save for the entrance door and one small window overlooking a table; which doubled as an operating table and a secretaries' desk made complete with dried blood and several documents seemingly used as a cloth to absorb blood, a lot of blood. "It's GOUGE, Captain Flux, GOUGE," corrected Dr. Yank Gouge, a dark blue coated unicorn as he made his way to the young captain from a room in the back of the office. "Do you ever take that coat off?" questioned Antiflux sarcastically concerning the doctor's signature singed white lab coat, "it's starting to look like a roasted campfire marshmallow". The doctor's un-amused answer about "dressing for the job" didn't draw Antiflux's attention as much as his sky blue mane haphazardly cut short and his broken stethoscope of a Cutie Mark; and by the time he had finished staring the doctor was already beginning to rant. "You know, if everypony would just sit still during treatment and would cease changing the 'ou' to a 'w' in an attempt to...I don't know, be funny,?" with this complaint the doctor's anger and vocal pitch rose and his arms began flying about as they often did when he became upset. Antiflux looked around the office looking for any other patients or even a secretary to step in or at least help absorb Dr. Gouge's oncoming rage, but to no avail, he was left to face the temper tantrum alone. "If they just let me do my job I wouldn't have this name and wouldn't have lost my reputation!" With this last statement the doctor's arms flew up despairingly and his voice rose to an all new level unknown to the poor captain. Antiflux couldn't help to pity the doctor amidst his snickers and a suppressed smile; ten years ago to be treated by Dr. Yank Gouge was a promise for success, but combining a drinking problem and a harsher regime placed by the Duel General Leaders upon medical facilities, especially among The Final Hope Hospital, the largest hospital in the Midnight Kingdom, Dr. Gouge just couldn't handle it and cracked. Several botched surgeries and a public nervous breakdown while being interviewed by a reporter concerning the death of one patient after his failed operation; Dr. Gouge was relinquished of his governmental medical contract and lost his reputation forcing him to prematurely retire until deciding to open his own small medical practice under the name of SCAB, where only his most faithful patients and no one else visited, for good reason.

Antiflux allowed himself a slight smile while Dr. Gouge calmed himself down by punching a conveniently placed pillow a couple of times. Watching a pony get mad was always a secret entertainment for Antiflux, but watching Dr. Gouge after he lost his temper was just priceless. Dr. Gouge turned back towards Antiflux, instantly regaining his placid nature trying to retain the air as if nothing had happened and addressed the young captain, "now shall we get started?"

Dr. Gouge led Antiflux towards the back room from where he had first emerged, mockingly saluting an upside down framed medical certificate which looked as if to have been shredded then perfectly glued back together. Reaching the end of the dimly lit hallway Antiflux was pushed inside a small cubicle covered with mirrors on every side. Closing the double mirrored door behind him Dr. Gouge cast a Speaker Spell upon Antiflux letting his words be placed in his mind, "_Antiflux can you hear me_?" questioned the doctor from behind the door. "_Yes doctor I can hear you loud and clear_," answered Antiflux calmly. Taking deep breaths as the doctor instructed Antiflux could hear the doctor speaking in his mind once again, "_do you have confidence in me and this procedure Antiflux_?" Antiflux stared at the mirror incredulously hoping that on the other side of the wall the doctor could see the look of exasperation on his face, "_sighhhhh of course doctor, how many times do I have to go over this, if you saved my life at birth and I have undergone numerous successful operations by your steady hand just like this one in the past why should this be any different_?" The doctor could not help but to smile, even though Antiflux answered that same question with the same answer the way his annoyance crept into his voice after every session made him chuckle, "_good answer," _he stated flatly. "_Same answer I give you every time Gouge_," responded Antiflux with a rolling of his eyes. "_I am ready to begin Seeker_." Antiflux was very familiar with this procedure, basically the doctor would cast the Speaker and Seeker Spells consecutively allowing the doctor not only complete access to his mind, but the control over his memories and the ability to replay instances in his life through a third person view; an operation Antiflux only allowed Dr. Gouge to do. "_This session will be no different from any other time so be prepared_," stated Dr. Gouge. "_Of course it is Dr. Gowge_," sarcastically responded Antiflux with a smile, every session was different than the one before, each time an original part of his life made new again in an attempt to in the doctors words, "obtain Recall."

Waiting for the doctor to begin Antiflux looked at himself from every angle. A seemingly flawless colt at first glance, with your eyes closed. A long white scar stretched from his forehead, to the tip of nose before branching out into three parts before finally ending at the end of his chin. The scar curiously did not touch his horn as the path indicated but rather curved around it to the left making a semi-circle but did cause his mane to be slightly parted in the front. Despite all of his efforts and questionings of his friends and family, none could seem to explain how his scar go there, therefore he accepted it as a very very unfortunate birthmark "_Some jewel of the Lunar Army I am," _thought Antiflux.

Dr. Gouge concentrated deeply on Antiflux until he could see his body go rigid and his pupils retreat inside his eye. Muttering a prayer to Princess Luna underneath his breath Antiflux's every memory and thought of his entire was being opened and analyzed under the scrutinizing eye of Dr. Gouge, and an image began to coalesce before him. A blurry vision of a dark forest shimmered in front of him as if he was looking at it through a watery telescope. The only illumination came from a pale full moon which looked down upon an open glade sorrowfully, and as Antiflux's eyes began searching the scenery with his mind's eye for anything, he began to understand why the moon looked down with pity. A bloodbath had ensued. Several ponies lay on the ground covered with dismembered limbs from other ponies and drenched in blood, whether from their wounds or somepony else's the young captain couldn't tell. Antiflux began taking hesitant steps forward, fearing to witness further carnage from the gruesome scene around him, "who could have done this, what happened here," he asked between sobs, "what happened?" Submitting to his quaking knees Antiflux fell to the floor crying uncontrollably trying to clean his mind of what he had seen and to shut out the screams and cries of pain and anguish around him. Raising his hooves to his ears Antiflux screamed at the moon, "why have you taken me here, why are you doing this to me?! Make this stop, please, stop the screaming!" he hooves outstretched to the moon in utter despair he came to the realization, the screaming was not in his head, it was all around him. Lifting his head from the ground and drying his tears on his upper arm he looked with blurry eyes to a small opening in the trees near the maw of an enormous cave where a sliver of moonlight was shining on the armor of three ponies quivering behind a large black clad pony; with a glowing insignia on his neck, a crescent moon with a sword running through the middle giving it the image of smile being sliced in half. Suppressing his grief the young captain began walking to the fear stricken ponies to aid them before a booming roar struck him limp; "oh no.." whispered Antiflux, closing his eyes to offer a prayer to Princess Luna hoping that what he heard was not what his heart feared it was, but ground shaking steps of an enormous monster shook him out of his prayer and into reality, it was an Ursa Major.

Antiflux's ears and head were ringing after the Ursa Major appeared out of the shadows of the cave and unleashed another deafening roar upon the ponies making them cringe in terror. Amidst the chaos Antiflux was able to see the black pony unleash a rallying cry to his army of three remaining ponies making them momentarily stand to their feet before once again brought to their knees as the Ursa Major began moving closer and closer to them. The great blue bear made the earth underneath its monstrous steps tremble as much as the ponies cowering before it. Searching frantically for a weapon or some form of help around him, his eyes locked on one unusual looking pony in full armor who was sitting on its tail observing the rage of the rage of the Ursa Major and the fear of the ponies as if taking score. Shaking the disbelief from his eyes Antiflux barked orders at the placid pony, "what are you doing soldier?! Get up and help your comrades!" He began to take frustrated steps towards the pony but as he came within touching distance of the pony, it calmly turned its head and Antiflux beheld its completely black eyes striking him dumb on the spot. Silently commanded by something within the pony Antiflux redirected all of his attention away from the unusual pony and back towards the struggling ponies. "I must do something or these ponies will die!" yelled Antiflux as he tried running towards the ponies. The distance between him and the ponies looked like nothing beyond a few feet but every step he took increased the distance by two; while everything became muddled and blurry as his heart raced and sweat dripped down his forehead. The Ursa Major bared his teeth and raised his arm to strike the ponies before a black aura enveloped them in a shimmering shield-like mist. "_Luna's Aura_," thought Antiflux admiringly, a powerful Shield spell usually only granted to high-ranking officers or learned independently by magically potent unicorns. Facing the Ursa Major grimly, the lead black clad pony braced himself for impact and strengthened his shield with another wave of energy from his horn. The Ursa Major's fist slammed the shield resonating with a deep crack before raising it again to strike another blow on the already weakening shield. Another fist landed on the black aura causing a large crack to appear on the surface of the shield, the leader of the ponies looking up wearingly, horn dimly glowing in an attempt to re-strengthen the shield. "The Aura can't withstand another blow of that force," screamed Antiflux in desperation to the lead pony, "you have to release the..." Antiflux's commands were cut short by another deafening roar by the Ursa Major followed by a flurry of pounds and slashes from its menacing fists. The young captain seeing that the shield was the ponies only hope of survival stood still and released a Renewal Spell to heal the shield and the ponies, healing magic was a difficult art in and of itself and even weak spells like Renewal were no exception. Nearly exerted from the extended run to the ponies, the Renewal Spell and the carnage around him Antiflux collapsed having only enough energy to keep his eyes open long enough to see the horrific scene of the Ursa Major shattering the Aura spell sending shield shards and blood everywhere as claw collided with flesh. After that Antiflux saw no more.

"Hahahaha..." Antiflux's ears perked up when he heard with disbelief, laughter. He stood up and looked around the completely black landscape looking vainly for the source of the laughter. "Hahahaha.." the laughter seemed to come from all around him making him run to and fro, frantically searching for the mocking voice. "You should have called on the Great and Powerful..." His eyes rested on a blue unicorn poised for victory on a hill of some sort surrounded by an unholy white light, the unicorn paused for a moment as if to add effect to her scripted performance, "The Great and Powerful Trixie!" With the mention of her name small firework like explosions went off then cascaded to the ground in a sheet of glitter. "If you and your pathetic band of ponies would have just called on the awesome might of the Great and Powerful Trixie perhaps Trixie would have spared you your pathetic fate to the hand of the Ursa Major, you know Trixie herself vanquished one." Rearing on her hind legs another series of explosions and piercing popping sounds ensued after her last boastful claim. Ignoring the unicorns' consideration of him being the leader of the slaughtered ponies he released all of his grief and pain upon the self-glorifying unicorn who dared to boast over the corpses of fallen soldiers, "how can you stand here and shout insults at ponies that were defending you!" The grieved captain stared long and hard at the unicorn hoping to convey his own feelings of despair and agony to the unicorn. "You watched as your countries' own soldiers, your PEOPLE!" Anitflux raised his voice and his horn glowed a dark black, like a spear of night, "you could have intervened or called for help, but instead you just sat on your flank and watched as your brethren were slaughtered!" With a coma of darkness surrounding his form, Antiflux launched himself at Trixie in a fit of rage, his only thought, his only desire, all of his lust focused on the utter destruction of Trixie, his representation of everything he felt and all that had happened. After the tips of his front hooves reached the edge of Trixie's wizard hat, everything went completely back and he saw no more.

Outside of Antiflux's mind Dr. Gouge looked upon him worryingly. "He shouldn't be getting this angry," the doctor observed aloud, "the recalled memory must have been more violent than any other." Obtaining a notepad and quill from a small shelf using telekinesis, "finally we have a breakthrough." A small smile began forming on Dr. Gouge's expectant lips, every other of the Speaker and Seeker sessions with Antiflux had resulted in bouts of nostalgia with results such as sorrow, laughter, and placidity, never before had the doctor undergone a procedure leading the young captain to anger. "Perhaps now we are nearing the instance where the trauma took place," recorded Dr. Gouge, unlike most doctors, Dr. Gouge recorded things exactly how he would say it, leading to many recordings being nothing but a mix of "umms" and "I want to go on break"; nevertheless Dr. Gouge felt that for the first time since the beginning of his procedures that perhaps there was hope for the poor soldier. He couldn't have been more wrong. During the mental battle with the Ursa Major Antiflux began to kick and scream violently, shaking the walls and breaking the reinforced mirrors the made up the wall around him. Dr. Gouge was shaken out of his hopeful thinking and resorted to the extreme ways of suppressing the rampaging pony. Breaking the Speaker and Seeker Spells he focused his telekinetic magic upon several leather straps that were previously buckled tightly on the ceiling of the mirror room. Descending rapidly the straps began wrapping around the ponies' limbs and buckling firmly so that the pony would not end up strangling himself in all of his struggling.

With all of his limbs secured, Antiflux was left to resume his agony within his mind. Images were racing past his eyes almost as if his mind was draining itself of memories. Trying to remember anything at all his efforts were met with a deep burning pain stretching across his face like a river of fire. Releasing another round of angry floundering he was left to the mercy of his inane mind. He opened his eyes to see a blue pony staring back at him intently as if he were trying to decipher a difficult puzzle. The blue pony was smearing his forehead with what looked like a white sheet of paper before he saw it again as a blood soaked mess. "So the memories lead to bleeding, how peculiar," he could hear the doctor observe nonchalantly, "poor boy had more than what's good for him." Between flashing images and a searing pain Antiflux could see the blue pony's horn glow a deep blue, Antiflux saw no more.


	2. Chapter 2: Wake Up in the Evening

The Following Chapter 2: Waking Up In the Evening

"Uhh, what happened last night," groaned Antiflux rubbing his bloodshot eyes on a soft red cloth, "did I have too much of that foreign cider again, damn that bubbly apple crap."

"Of all the things to be on your mind when you wake up in a foreign place it had to be cider," a feminine voice shocked Antiflux out of his groggy state. "Who's there?! Show yourself!" rising off of the bed he reached for his boot knife when he was met with an intense headache. Laying back dazed Antiflux saw a crimson red pegasus approach him with a slight spring in her step, "HI CAPTAIN," the mare screamed in exuberance, "new recruit Bloodblossom reporting for duty SIR!" With the extra emphasis on "sir" Bloodblossum saluted, perhaps a little too forcefully, for after a few seconds she lowered her hoof Antiflux thought her forehead looked a little redder; or maybe that was just her natural color, you never could tell with a pony as red as her. "Of all the mares I wake up to, it had to be YOU," Antiflux groaned throwing his hands in the air in desperation. Upon reopening his eyes he stared right into the face of a beaming Bloodblossum, ear to ear smile and all. Antiflux let out a great sigh before addressing his energetic subordinate, "how long have I been out, I'm going to go with a whole 24 hours. How warm am?" Antiflux was never the one to be formal with his soldiers, despite oppositions but his superiors he treated his troop in a firm but casual attitude with which he believed would help them to be more of a family rather than a forced march.

"Oh Cappy," responded the cheery pony with a giggle and a smile, "you've only been asleep for an hour." Antiflux stared back skeptically, "An hour, since my doctor's appointment, only an hour. Are you sure Bloodblossom?" "Yeap siree Cappy sir," another address to her captain called for another salute by the young Pegasus. "Mehh. I was hoping to get a day off of duty for this," Antiflux complained looking at the clock hanging above a small fireplace but instead of it being a welcome relief it was a blatant reminder of his lack of good fortune, "now I've only wasted my lunch break."

Antiflux and Bloodblossum were relatively close as far as captains to soldiers go. The death of Bloodblossum's mother from birth complications left a rift between Bloodblossum and her father Lockjaw. After several charges of abuse were filed against Lockjaw by Bloodblossum's relatives, Bloodblossum was sent to an orphanage. All of Bloodblossum's life until that point seemed to a depressing destiny; however she and Antiflux's meeting was a miraculous anomaly for the grief stricken pegasus.

Two years after her arrival at the orphanage Antiflux and his troop were sparring and demonstrating drills and marches outside of the orphanage for the older orphans hoping to be accepted into the Lunar Army. Obviously not anything a young Pegasus mare should be interested however that did not stop Bloodblossum. Muscling her way to the front of the crowd she witnessed Antiflux's might, and listened to him and his comrade's give their testimony about why they fought for the Lunar Army. At that point Bloodblossum knew what she wanted to do with life, to protect and defend everything and everyone who could not do it themselves. Enlisting in the Lunar Army under Troop Kurabi Bloodblossum earned her Cutie Mark; two crippled wings surrounded by a shield, and earned an esteemed place as Antiflux's personal trainee and secret favorite trooper.

"Oh it's no biggy Cappy at least you're with me!" Even though he had to put up with Bloodblossum's outbursts on a consistent basis Antiflux truly enjoyed his work in the Lunar Army. Being able to train and lead his troop which he proudly claimed as the 'best joint troop in all of the Lunar Army' was one of his greatest passions. But as all great things it came with a price that he dreaded more than anything, paperwork, and today his monthly report on the spending and maintenance of his troop was due. Dreading the late night ahead of him Antiflux lay silent for a brief period, too brief for the ever talkative Pegasus, "so Cappy you ready for the big night tonight?" A now overjoyed Bloodblossom was bouncing around the room with unsuppressed glee.

The young captain looked at her curiously and thought to himself, "_so cheerful for such a position, I wonder if she lusts for the danger or if she wants every breath to be laughter_." Clearing his mind of his thoughts he lowered his feet onto the ground and stood taking shaky steps forward trying to catch up with the Pegasus, "what do you mean 'ready for the big night tonight'," Antiflux questioned faking a bounce and imitating her voice perfectly. Bloodblossom ceased bouncing and stared at her captain oblivious of his sarcasm actually thinking that his faked enthusiasm was authentic, "welllllllllll," said Bloodblossom dragging the word out to the furthest degree but never getting past it.

Antiflux stood there waiting for her answer but all he got was a large smile and a Pegasus who was obviously relishing the attention from her captain a little too much, "yes?" he coaxed. "Well I was just saying that Princess Luna is making her official return tonight from Canterlot and there's going to be so many festivities and fanfare as far as the eye can see!" she lifted her hooves and made a large swooping motion to emphasize how big of an event this arrival seemed to be.

It took a moment for her words to truly sink into Antiflux, with such a brief respite from the Speaker Seeker spells his mind was weak from exhaustion, "leaping Luna you're right! I completely forgot about the whole thing!" He began pacing back and forth running preparations through his mind trying to recall if he had run through marching drills with his troop or whether he had them completely shine their ceremonial armor, but his mind was scrambled.

Bloodblossum could see the troubled look on his face so she moved in to help, at her approach Antiflux realized something that fly right by him the second he awoke, "hey wait a minute," he said stopping his pacing to fully address his soldier, "if I went out at the doctor's how did I wake up here?" His hoof went to his face as he dreaded the answer to his next question, "gawd damnit Bloodblossum you weren't following me again were you?" As loyal Bloodblossum was she didn't go off duty ever, ever. In several cases Antiflux found his new recruit following him even when morning training had completed, to his favorite coffee shop Applebucks named after the trademark apple ingredients used in their coffee and the unique way they have of harvesting them in the Day Realm.

Bloodblossum looked around sheepishly taking a few steps backwards before finally gathering enough courage to answer, "yes Captain Antiflux," she said with her head down. Her straight answer took Antiflux aback; whenever she addressed him properly he knew she was sincere. "I followed you to Dr. Gowge's office and I waited patiently outside for him to finish raping you or whatever you two do in there." Despite the admittance to her following him Antiflux lowered his eyelids in exasperation, not only was every other pony in his division saying that he was having nefarious affairs with the doctor but now his own trainee, "_stupid rumors_," he thought broodingly. "And after it had been a couple of hours," she continued lamenting, "I went inside and saw you lying on a red desk asleep, I looked around for Dr. Gowge but couldn't find so I picked you up and carried you back to my house." After she completed her confession her eyes were fixed on the floor, remorseful that she may have offended her beloved captain. Fearing that he may have hurt his cheery trainee with his accusations, he walked up to her and put an encouraging hoof around her shoulder making her head instantly shoot back up and her eyes bug out gleefully. "Ahhh it's alright little Buddy," he assured calling her the pet name he used whenever she messed up on a training drill, "if it wasn't for you stalking me and picking me up I would have woken up to an old man. And that would have been...less than pleasurable," he said with a shudder.

"So you're not mad at me?!" she exclaimed jubilantly bouncing a pony's height straight in the air. Although he wished that she would be serene on more occasions, Antiflux found himself missing her exuberant nature whenever she did calm down, which rarely happened. "Ha-ha of course not Buddy," he comforted with a chuckle, "now suit up, I have to go back to my place and put on my armor I'll meet you back here when I'm done."

All traces of her past composure were now lost in her newly obtained joy, "don't worry about it Cappy, I've taken the liberty of going to your house and bringing your armor here while you were out cold." She reached under the bed Antiflux had been lying on and pulled out a large wooden chest which Antiflux recognized as his grandfather's chest and upon opening found his armor perfectly cleaned and polished. Her expression was now completely one of mirth when she saw Antiflux raise his armor out of his chest with a look of surprise on his face, "I didn't expect you to wake up so late so I didn't get a chance to triple shine it but you I wasn't able to," she explained looking down despondently. He admired his polished armor, he didn't know any other pony that could polish as well as him, if not for joining the Lunar Army he might've been a jeweler. "This is incredible Bloodblossum," he admitted reluctantly, "and to think I held the title of being best polisher in all of the Midnight Kingdom."

"Oh well of cooouurse you are Cappy," she said rolling her eyes and giggling, "it's not like you come from a family of jewelers or anything." Antiflux had to consent to Bloodblossum's reasoning, her family the Emeralds was recognized as the best jewelry makers in all of Chrome, and with the addition of their new catch phrase, "anything can be shiny but only Emeralds sparkle" they were vying for the best jewelers in all of the Midnight Kingdom.

"Hey wait a minute!" Antiflux exclaimed, "how did you get into my house?!" Bloodblossum's eyes wandered, beads of sweat dripping down her brow, "uhh, uhm well you see, IIIIII think I'm going to go change now!" Not waiting for Antiflux's response she flew into her bedroom a circular room with no doors or windows to be seen, only walls erected a feet away from the ceiling; for a pony who didn't know anything about any other pony's privacy she sure did appreciate her own.

While Antiflux knew Bloodblossum to be a bit of a stalker he would have never suspected her to spy on him changing, somewhat of a paradox belief in that the only clothing he usually wore was his white captains' cloak; changing in private was merely a polite thing to do in Chrome and for much of Equestria. Antiflux donned his ceremonial silver greaves and chest-plate. While not admitting to being as annoyed as the next pony who was forced to garb themselves in their troublesome armor, it wasn't every night you were able to witness the raising of the moon by Princess Luna; and for that, Antiflux bore his heavier weight with a quiet dignity.

It wasn't a surprise that the Princess would be paying a visit to Chrome, the largest city in the Night Realm and the center for commerce and trade in all of a Equestria toppling even Canterlot and Fillydelphia; a title Princess Luna and the citizens of Chrome wore with pride. The "surprise" while secretly expected by AntiFlux, the captain of Joint Infantry Troop 17, but while expected he was not hesitant display his joy along with the rest of his troop; although what AntiFlux would call "joy" didn't seem as such to anypony else.

Chrome, being the commerce capital of Equestria was not in the least the most appealing. Every building and tower consisted of monochromatic colors between white and black, or in some cases a very dark blue. To any other pony this would seem a sad and depressing world, but to the citizens of Midnight, Princess Luna's ordained realm of nocturnal ponies, this place was home. Nestled among the tallest of the Solar Mountain Range, the peak of the tallest mountain in Equestria Blackstone held Chrome. The "Kingdom of Midnight" as it is called by its citizens was given to Luna in the founding of Equestria but was left unattended and forgotten during Princess Luna's thousand year banishment. Left without their ruler the Midnight Ponies fended mostly for themselves under the rule of the two brother generals of the Lunar Army, Blackfoot and Smokesnout. Seemingly willing and welcoming to the return of their beloved princess, they wasted no time in relinquishing power back to the rightful ruler. The Kingdom of Midnight, small but proud provided most of the Royal Equestrian Force or REF, the official army of Princess Celestia and Luna's realm consisting of Celestia's Royal Guard to the common police officer. Created by Princess Celestia herself after the banishment of Luna, the main purpose of the Force was to control any acts of violence or strife amongst ponies, contain all harmful creatures within the Everfree Forest, and to the ready for any further attacks from Nightmare Moon or any foreign assailant. Committed to bear arms at any moment the Royal Equestrian Force along with the Lunar Army had to secure a safe arrival and departure for the Princesses, and this was one of those nights.

Antiflux straightened his prized Medal of Advancement, the emblem given to everypony who was accepted into the REF. He overlooked and inspected every part of his attire making sure every part of his armor had been properly shined and every hair on his wavy mane was put in place, but also so that the part in his hair the scar made was covered.

Even though he would probably not be able to have audience with the Princess Antiflux hoped that he would; for to Antiflux, Princess Luna was the moon, in a way that she was his light in the dark. Thanks to Dr. Gouge's Speaker Seeker therapy Antiflux was still able to remember what happened that night after the attack, one of the most important nights of his life. He could still hear the voice of Princess Luna commanding the doctor's to operate on him after they retrieved him and the rest of the troop's survivors of the Ursa Major attack. The doctors at Final Hope all but abandoned the hope that Antiflux would have survived an attack of that caliber, saying that he had lost too much blood to be saved even if they stitched up the wounds; even going so far as to say that if he survived by some miracle he would be a vegetable, the words they used still stung him to this day "a brainless sack of meat".

Clearing his head of the disheartening memories he focused on the image of Princess Luna he had locked away in the back of his head so that whenever he needed something to cheer him up when Bloodblossum wasn't around, he remembered his Princess. Despite everypony's gossip he constantly insisted to them that he was not in love with her, which was not entirely true. Antiflux had to confess his feelings towards her to himself, he didn't know if he loved her or not she was just everything to him. She and his troop were the only reason he woke up to the rising of the moon, it wasn't for family or friends for he could not remember any of them. Some time ago after the surgery he was approached by two ponies claiming to be in his troop when they were under attack and the only two who survived operation out of the three other soldiers who were rescued. Confused and unsettled by their claims Antiflux didn't believe them and after that day he didn't have any other ponies mentioning the attack to him, none but Dr. Gouge.

Hearing the flap of wings behind him, Antiflux gawked at Bloodblossum in full armor. Her new beauty was surprising compared to her usually bedraggled look, often scolded by Troop Kurabi's oldest veteran Mistymoon. Bloodblossum must have noticed Antiflux's fixed stare on her for she continued turning around dramatically to make her mane flow to and fro. Finally regaining his ability to speak to asked her abashed, "whatever happened to your famous 'I don't give a crap' kind of ideals?" Giggling violently Bloodblossum gripped a nearby table to avoid falling over in her laughing fit, "oh you silly silly Cappy! If I'm going to be around some of the Midnight Kingdom's best I want to be my best, know what I mean?" she joked winking and jabbing his side with her elbow. Antiflux rolled his eyes, as much of a faithful trainee Bloodblossum was, when it came to a handsome stallion she was long gone into love town.

"Alright I think you've stalled long enough Cappy, let's go!" With a spring in her step she grabbed her captain by the arm and pulled him out of the door and into the street. Looking up at the starry night he saw a bright full moon illuminating the pale buildings and street in a milky light. Antiflux smiled and galloped after his skipping friend down the street towards the castle.

Author's Note: Hey guys it's Arbasyn as you might have guessed, I just wanted to let you guys know about a couple of things so you don't get confused and kill me or something haha

I don't know if you noticed a lot of talk about Antiflux's memory and I hope you don't get annoyed or confused but rest assured there is a big point behind all of it and it will get explained later on

I'm sorry if the story's a little slow but I just want to make sure I add a lot of character development and backstory into all of the mane characters so they can be more dynamic later on, things will pick up soon as the plot thickens. That may actually be the name of the next chapter O.o

Hope you guys like my fanfiction, I love the show and everything but I fell in love with the fandom that went along with it which helped me stay with the show and realize how awesome it was. Anyway I just wanted to make my own addition to the whole Bronyism thing and so now I can say "yea I write My Little Pony fanfiction I'm 20% cooler" and a bunch of stuff like that

Shoutout to my bros at RG Bronies and Lost Sanctum, please spread the word about my story, I'd love to have fan…..oh Celestia that'd be amazing


	3. Chapter 3: Troop Kurabi

The Following Chapter 3: Troop Kurabi

"Ohhhhh Cappy!" Antiflux's brisk trot to accelerate to a full gallop in an attempt to outrun his enthusiastic recruit; waking up to her was bad enough, but the possibility of being with her the whole night was almost unbearable. Weaving in between high-rise apartments buildings and squeezing through tight fitting alleyways, Antiflux could still not shake off his pegasus pursuer who knew the inner crowded portions of the city as well as he.

Sprinting right through town square and ignoring all of the greetings by the other ponies Anitflux caught his breath in an alley behind a large building and took an assessment of his surroundings. Listening to the sounds of pre-festival preparations left the sound of Bloodblossum's approaching wing flapping's impossible to determine. Relying on his knowledge of the layout of Chrome and his numerous serpentine maneuvers to outsmart his stalker, he let out the last of his breath and sank to the street panting heavily. "You're pretty fast for a unicorn Cappy," complimented a hovering Bloodblossum who was seemingly waiting for him to show up. "AHH!" exclaimed Antiflux, half from the surprise, half from being surprised like that twice from Bloodblossum on the same day.

Bloodblossum beamed, wishfully thinking that Antiflux's outburst was a positive one and that her captain was actually happy to see her; but instead of her expected hug and warm congratulation for winning their "race" she got a loud groan instead. "Bloodblossum...hack...hooo..."collapsing from exhaustion Antiflux could only talk between ragged breaths, "how did...you…keep up with…hack...me?"

"Oh that was easy as peasy Cappy," answered Bloodblossum with her usual smile, "I just looked for the super black color on your horn when you were trying to cast a Vanish spell on me silly. You know some people may call that cheating mister," continued Bloodblossum waving an accusing hoof with another curved on her hip.

"Cheating?" panted Antiflux still trying to catch his breath, being a powerful unicorn Antiflux never saw the need to continuously strain himself with physical exercise; to him a unicorn had magic, a pegasus had wings, and earth ponies had brawn, an equal match. "Why yes Cappy of course," giggled Bloodblossum helping him off his feet, "we were racing remember? And IIIII," Bloodblossum built up rearing on her hind legs, "the great and powerful Trixie am the best of them all!"

Something in Antiflux's head went off when he heard those words, a mental trigger that left him absent of all control. "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO YOUR PEOPLE?" Antiflux screamed throwing his arms into the air and collapsing again onto the pavement. Bloodblossum looked at her captain stunned, "what's going on!," was all she could manage to say admist the shock of his outburst. Hesitatingly approaching her frenzied captain she laid a hand on his shoulder but was clutched by an iron grip on her neck. His horn glowing jet black Antiflux hardened his resolve and focused on his sole desire, to destroy Trixie.

"Captain…Anti...aack" choked Bloodblossum writhing violently in his grip. "At last I have you in my grasp, and now you will die." Closing his grip around his recruit's neck ready to end the cause of his nightmares; but not without gloating first, "any last words 'great and powerful' Trixie, any lights or lasers you'd like to say farewell to?"

Feeling the last of her breath escaping her body Bloodblossum looked up at the moon in the desire to make the emblem of her people the last thing she sees at the hands of her own captain when a small blue frame appeared on the roof of an adjacent building. "Mi…Misty?" Uttering her name Bloodblossum gave one final struggle before the blue pony jumped down onto the street then striking Antiflux on the cheek. The force of the blow knocked Antiflux to the ground breaking his concentration on his spell sending a shocked and barely breathing Bloodblossum falling to the street.

Bloodblossum struggled to open her eyes, eager to look for what happened to her captain and where the blue pony went. Her eyes locked onto a patch of pure white moonlight leading down onto the head of a collapsed black pony; his white mane split to one side of his head leaving his enormous scar horridly visible which almost illuminated under the moon's light.

Bloodblossum's blue savior sat close to Antiflux's crumpled body, appearing to be whispering into his ear. Moving in closer she could see the blue earth pony kiss Antiflux lightly on the forehead before gingerly lifting him to his feet; giving him slight support when she could see him wobbling the blue mare backed away and let Antiflux regain control of himself. "Ca…Cappy," Bloodblossum moved towards him slowly only to be pushed back by the blue mare. Antiflux raised his head to the moon and let out a great sigh as if a spirit had left his body.

"Captain Antiflux, can you hear me," the blue mare said boomingly, "it is I, Mistymoon, can you hear me?" Antiflux stared blankly ahead prompting Mistymoon to try and communicate with him again, "Antiflux," whispered Mistymoon taking her own cautionary steps towards him, "I'm here Antiflux, it's Misty, I'm here don't worry." Antiflux looked with glazed eyes at the sound of Mistymoon's soft words, "Mu...Misty. Is that you?" Extending her hoof to the shaken captain Mistymoon drew him close in a tight embrace tearing slightly.

"UHHGG, of course it's her she only said it like five times," complained Bloodblossum irritated that of all people to comfort Antiflux out of his crazed state it had to be that tombstone of a pony Mistymoon. "_She won't steal my Cappy from me_," brooded Bloodblossum, "_no matter how calm she is it's all about passion and excitement that the dear Antiflux enjoys_." Bloodblossum and her comrade Mistymoon had a complex relationship, in simple terms: Bloodblossum's quantities happiness and mirth is equal to Mistymoon's solemnity and placidness; and while Mistymoon being the veteran was Bloodblossum's superior, Bloodblossum always treated her as her rival.

"What happened, I think I blacked out there for a second what's going on?" Antiflux squeezed his head with his hooves, "I thought I heard Trixie." "You're fine Antiflux, there is no danger anywhere, you're safe now," Mistymoon comforted, "let's just make our way to Midnight Castle to meet Princess Luna; I'm sure everyone is waiting for us there." "Oh yes," Antiflux groaned, "I'm sure everyone's waiting for the infamous Troop Kurabi."

"Well it's no wonder everypony will be waiting for us there, we're the toast of the town!" praised Bloodblossum while hovering to and fro around the two walking ponies. "Do you even know what 'toast of the town' means Private Bloodblossum," questioned Mistymoon annoyed, "it means laughing stock you know that right?" While Mistymoon was known throughout Troop Kurabi to be the wisest and understanding of ponies she was also incredibly obstinate. "Uh, no it's not, it means that everyone's jealous of you and wants to be your friend. You know they're the little green monster," to complete her explanation Bloodblossum put her hooves next to her head to imitate horns. "Who would want to be friends with you," Mistymoon retorted lamely, "our objective is just to get there before we are late, it would be most unprofessional." "Excuse me but is the mist covering your eyes there Mistymoon, there's only three of us, we're not even a full team," Bloodblossum looked around as if their fourth and final member would appear suddenly out of the shadows, "where's Unreal?"

"Did someone call for me?!" shouted a voice above the rest of the troop's heads. "Oh boy," grumbled Antiflux instinctively shielding his eyes for what was to come. As soon as Mistymoon and Bloodblossum saw a silhouette of a pegasus descending towards them they were blinded by an array of flashes and lights followed by the loud clink of metal hooves landing hard on the ground. Finishing his grand entrance with a final flash of lights and flashes the pegasus Unreal made his grand catchphrase, "it is I Unreal, and may all danger and evil come before me so I can get funky!"

Looking at each other in exasperation Mistymoon and Antiflux were reminded of the arduous task of keeping the hotshot Unreal and the ever peppy Bloodblossum under control. "It's going to be a long night," confided Mistymoon to her captain. Shaking his head Antiflux chastised his comrade, "you're late again Unreal. For one so keen on making a big entrance you sure do take your time doing it." "Awe it's all in good fun Captain, you gotta keep everyone in suspense you know," ribbed Unreal, "if you come whenever you're expected it's no fun. But if you come with a huge awesome entrance aaaaand an awesome catchphrase everyone will look twice at you." Antiflux could only sigh at his prideful comrade, although Unreal had only been in Troop Kurabi for a year he had already proven himself to be a great flyer and fighter, and he knew it too.

"Awesome catchphrase. You really said 'awesome catchphrase," speculated Bloodblossum. Being of the same age and idealism as Unreal, Bloodblossum usually took his side in an argument or a spar; but when it came to theatrics and Antiflux's attention, they were sworn enemies. Rolling his eyes Unreal fly upside down above Bloodblossum, a move that befit his name, "I wouldn't expect a rookie to know anything about awesome so I'm going to let that attempt at an insult go over my head." "You said funky Unreal, funky, funky." Bloodblossum let the word truly sink into Unreal and as his eyes widened and his cheeks reddening in embarrassment she knew she made her point, "oh uh…uh...I'm still working on it, it's a prototype you know just an introduction introduction."

"Never mind your usual snooze theatrics did you bring the things I requested," questioned Antiflux trying to avoid a comrade confrontation between Bloodblossum and Unreal until they at least got to the castle. Unreal gasped as if offended by Antiflux's question, "why Captain, you act as if I'm unreliable!" "Well you were late," corrected Antiflux. Hovering for several seconds without coming up with a clever comeback Unreal gave in and led Antiflux to wear he had hidden the items he had requested. Mistymoon began to follow Antiflux but was stopped by Bloodblossum, "wait Misty I need to talk to you." Surprised by the lack of any squeal of delight or smile Mistymoon still couldn't resist the urge to chastise her young comrade, "its lieutenant Mistymoon, Private Bloodblossum, lieutenant." "Mistymoon this is no time to be petty!" although Bloodblossum's usual boisterous voice was back it was filled with desperation instead of joy. Taking a moment to recover her composure she lowered her head in grief and asked the question that had been on her mind the second she saw Antiflux, "what's wrong with him Misty," genuine concern and sorrow weaved through her words causing tears to well in her eyes, "what's wrong with my Cappy. He's not the same, he attacked me Misty; and if you weren't there I might have...he might have killed me."

Mistymoon observed her friend intently, she knew Bloodblossum cared for the Captain but this was beyond her awareness, "Private." Bloodblossum lifted her head to reveal her eyes now reddened from her rubbing them to prevent their inevitable tears, "he's going to be fine Private Bloodblossum" Misty reassured. "But, but, what does he go to the raping doctor for, why does he have that scar, why did he attack me, is he going insaa," Bloodblossum's lament towards her captain was stopped short by Mistymoon's embrace. "Don't you worry about him Bloodblossum," Mistymoon consoled between tears of her own, "I promise you. He will be fine, we'll help him together, I promise you." Pulling away from Mistymoon's embrace Bloodblossum occupied her arms in wiping her runny nose and eyes, "you know you're not really good at comforting people Misty." Chuckling slightly Mistymoon didn't take her friend's comment to heart, "you're lucky I have a sparkling sense of humor kid or I just might have to tell Captain Antiflux about this." Bloodblossum tried to keep her cool but her increasingly reddening cheeks and the bead of sweat dripping down her forehead betrayed her feelings. "Hahaha you're quite the character Bloodblossum I'll give you that."

"Hey Captain, have you asked the Lieutenant out yet or what," mocked Unreal. Antiflux looked at him confoundedly, "you're kidding right," Even the idea of such a thing made Antiflux nervous making him stumble over his own words, "Please tell me you're joking Major Unreal, she's my right hand pony my devoted comrade, how can you expect me to pursue a professional relationship to something…beyond that?" Laughing off his Captain's denying answer Unreal couldn't help but try and convince him, "oh c'mon Captain, I mean there's only four of us in the troop we're a Recon and surveillance troop for Luna's sake, why not try and have a little fun with the two beautiful ponies we've been given. Why I'd say it's Luna's way of rewarding us for all of the hard work we've done." "What work," Antiflux retorted, unknowingly encouraging Unreal's erratic ideas further, "we barely do anything. Our main job is just to keep the borders of the Everfree Forest secure and look good for the cameras." "Well putting all of that proper dibble aside just look at it from an objective point of view, I mean just picture it with me." Putting his arm around his Captain's shoulder Unreal spread his other arm across the sky as if drawing an image, "on one side you've got two very handsome upstanding stallions in the Lunar Army with decent ranking and recognition." Directing Antiflux with his arm back to where the other two ponies were waiting Unreal completed his tale, "and there, on the other glorious side is the magic of friendship. Two beautiful, single, brave, majestic, graceful, most attractive ponies in the Midnight Kingdom, no, in all of EQUESTRIA!" Antiflux raised a hoof to his forehead and squinted his eyes as if looking far away, "where are these amazing ponies?!" he shouted with mock glee, "hey I'm single ready to mingle bring on the ladies, oh but wait. I can't see any of them with Mistymoon and Bloodblossum in the way." Unreal snorted at the sarcastic remark and fly behind a corner of a small building to retrieve a large brown sack then un-ceremonially dumped the contents on the ground. "Hey hey hey you're going to get them dirty," complained Antiflux, stooping down to retrieve his beloved dagger. "Oh chillax chief it's not like we ever use them," defended Unreal, "and why do you even need a dagger, you're a top notch unicorn mage what's with the dagger." "It's a family heirloom Major Unreal. It's been passed down my family for generations," Antiflux always had a passion for history; and when it came to his own genealogy you couldn't make him start once he got started. "Yea yea whatever let's just give everyone their stuff so we can get to the castle already, I'm getting edgy here," whined Unreal flapping his wings impatiently to further his point.

"Was it because of the…the incident," even with the unusual show of affection and reassurance by Mistymoon it could not quell the anxiety in Bloodblossum's heart. "It might be," admitted Mistymoon after much thought, "of course we cannot be too certain when it comes to the wellbeing of our good Captain Antiflux. The best thing for us to do is leave him to his treatment and pray that he will be fine." "I heard about what happened to him," whispered Bloodblossum with a shiver, "he was one of four people who survived the Ursa Major attack out of the fifty that were assigned to force it back into the heart of the Everfree Forest." Mistymoon looked away despondently deep in thought for not even she had been aware of the extent of the damage the attack had on Antiflux, "you know that scar on his forehead? I heard that it was from a direct swipe by an Ursa Major and he survived." "You listen to hearsay and gossip too much Private Bloodblossum," dismissed Mistymoon trying to divert the topic away from the depressing subject. "I thought you wanted me to listen more," contravined Bloodblossum who as you can imagine talked more than listened. "Bending your ears to every whisper and thread of gossip your young mind can grab hold of does not count as listening, now please, don't bring this up any further." "But but but," despite her protests Mistymoon would not hear of it anymore and silenced her subordinate with a quick glare and a barring of her teeth.

"Alright everypony are we ready to have some fun?!" Unreal was not in the least bit sarcastic in his glee, while he was not overly fond of troublesome formalities he was eager to introduce himself to the various nobles and dignitaries there; to him, his and his families' honor was all that mattered. "I think you need to redirect your enthusiasm to something more practical Major Unreal," commented Mistymoon, but after turning her attention to the poor storage of her beloved armor her corrective nature turned to disappointment, "and look at this. You stored my armor in a dirty brown sack?" Rolling his eyes at Mistymoon's complaints Unreal lifted her helmet and placed it on her head while she attached her iron boots to her hooves and knuckles on her elbows. "See no harm done," said Unreal strapping on his javelin, "you and Captain need to lighten up a bit. I mean look at Bloodblossum, she's not complaining," directing the attention away from him and to the young recruit who was donning her quiver and readying her crossbow. "That's because shiny doesn't make you or your weapon stronger, so, whatever is whatever is what I always say," agreed a smiling Bloodblossum, "let's just suit up and get going, the night is young and we've got to get goin!" "For once I agree with you Private Bloodblossum," said Mistymoon." "Oh wait wait wait!" Unreal suddenly exclaimed, "let's do the cheer thing you guys c'mon we've gotta do the cheer! C'mon Captain let's break it out!" "Ugh, fine fine," reluctantly Captain Antiflux put his arm around Mistymoon to his right who then put her arm around Bloodblossum who then put her arm around Unreal then his arm around Antiflux in turn. "I can't believe you're making me do this," groaned Antiflux, "from the tip of our blade to the moon high in the sky let danger quiver before TROOP KURABI!" "Yea funky!" ribbed Bloodblossum shoving Unreal jokingly. Unreal's face turned livid red and his voice rose in fury "SHUTUP!"


End file.
